Paul Thomas

Author and columnist Paul Thomas’ seven works of fiction include four novels featuring maverick cop Tito Ihaka; three were republished in 2009 as The Ihaka Trilogy. His work has been widely published internationally and translated into several languages.

Thomas scooped up the prestigious crime-writing award with his novel Death on Demand, which was also selected by the UK’s Shots Magazine as best crime novel of 2013, and was a starred review in the US Publishers Weekly. The series continues to entertain its ever-growing fan base with Fallout, published by Upstart Press.

Born in 1951, in the United Kingdom, and educated at the University of Auckland, Paul Thomas is widely considered to have changed the face of New Zealand crime writing with his Ihaka Trilogy, starting with Old School Tie in 1994, then Inside Dope (1995), and finally Guerilla Season (1996). The Ngaio Marsh Award is added to his Ned Kelly for Best Fiction award for the second Ihaka novel, Inside Dope.